Saturday, August 6, 2016

ATF eForms reboot delayed

A recent communication from the ATF to various participants signed up to beta test the rebooted eForms system has indicated that another significant delay is expected in its release.
On November 3rd, the ATF officially announced another delay in the return of the wildly popular online application system and indicated that they're likely having to start from scratch in order to get a system that will perform as needed.
In the meantime, they hope to take action to get the current eForms system to process Form 3 transfers again, although Form 4s will not be available. It seems that the government process of wasteful and time-consuming contractor bidding and approval (including background checks) is getting in the way of a system reboot. The government wants to limit expenditures to a one-time fixed budget that produces an all-or-nothing product that doesn't permit for ongoing updates to meet additional requirements over time.
It appears necessary to secure additional funding and potentially hire another new contractor to complete the work on the eForms project, meaning another 6-10 months of waiting, potentially.